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Time has costs does it? My, my….

Let’s for a moment assume, as they do, that the number of clearances will not reduce (which they seem to have ignored – oddly) that means the cost will be £100 a clearance. That is made up of an assumed £32.50 charge on each side of the import or export plus, I guess, a broadly similar cost to business to actually complete the forms.

So the rational question to ask is whether it might cost £35.00 for business to complete a customs declaration. Even if large parts of this could be automated the whole process will take time, effort, management, communication, systems, checks, audits and delivery so that the right person has the right form on the right consignment at the right time. Of course costs will vary. But allowing for overheads and on costs of employment £35 seems entirely fair for business.

In which case it seems fair for processing too. Twice over, of course.

So my gut reaction is that HMRC may well be in the right area with this one.

But to do country by country reporting to sate the delusions of one monomaniac has no costs at all.

6 thoughts on “Time has costs does it? My, my….”

  1. @ SMFS
    The time of the non-civil-servant has, in theory, no cost. So the NHS will keep pregnant women waiting two or three hours for an appointment ratherthean risk five minutes of a doctor’s time being wasted because one of them fails to attend at the pre-arranged time. [The rest of my comment is censored]

  2. Does he think there’s no paperwork now? Even if he’s just looking at the incremental increase in paperwork then £35 may well be the cost for an organisation that doesn’t do export/import often, but for business where it’s routine likely minimal time/cost increase.

  3. Still remember the pain of filling in the EU intrastat reports, can’t be worse than that and surely that’s a cost saving to offset the costs of customs declarations

  4. I was in a virtual company of five people. We imported goods and exported goods and services all over the world. The secretary did it. On her own and as part of her other duties. It doesn’t seem to have been much of a problem. Of course we had to occasionally pay clearers but that sped up the process.

    It only seems a big deal to those who haven’t done it. Which includes HMRC, who seem to be seeing their jobs disappearing if they push out this kind of bolx.

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